Thawing
by Dorian98
Summary: Cold. The water was very, very cold. He was about to die. Yet there was still something that had to be done. Satoru could finish like this - the murders would continue, none of his friends would be safe without him! He still had to repent. This timeline was the right one, the only thing needed was to cut the ending short. Satoru had promises to keep.


Hello, fellow readers.

So I finished the manga in like two days. I mean, I ended today. And don't take me the wrong way, I love it. I loved every second of it and especially the ones I hated.  
But here I am. Not because I feel the end was bad, but because I love good ends. Just a weakness of mine. I want to give Satoru the well deserved reaaaaally good end. I want to give him the childhood he lost, the childhood with all his friends. And with Kayo, of course.  
That said, right now, I run on enthusiasm and love for characters - I've got no idea where this will be heading. I promise no schedule (but know that I'll sit down and prepare some basic lines). May come back to this chapter if I feel like cleaning something up.

I do not hold any sort of right to the original series.  
Please, do read and review. Yet be warned English is not my first language and it has been a good few years in which I have not written anything (other than reddit comments I suppose).

* * *

(...)

He could not unbuckle the seatbelt. Water rushed inside and temperature shock opened his mouth in a silent scream. Satoru was on his way to death, he knew as much. Struggling, shaking, spasming, his body finally gave up. Panic took him over, he couldn't think clearly. Consciousness giving way, the car thudding down, he focused desperately on _something, _anything would do, if it kept him awake for another second. Flashes of his life filled his vision.

The birthday party, as he and Kayo were covered by confetti when they entered.

Their hideout during one of his friends casual game afternoon.

Hinazuki reaching for his bare hand in the park.

„I want to change the future," rang him own voice, as darkness crept around the edges of his visions.

Aiko encouraging him under the bridge.

Mother giving him a stack of money for his date.

Foex running in circle around Kayo and him.

Kenya pledging to be another 'ally of justice'.

„Are you stupid?", and his heart throbbed more painfully than his lungs this time.

Kayo agreeing to get kidnapped.

Kayo blushing when he left the bus.

Kayo leaning on him as they fell asleep…

That said, there was an awful lot of her in his life replay. The last time this happened she was there too, an ominous reminder of his failures. And here she was again; his triumph, his friend, a part of his new life... He thought something along the lines of; _„__Get a grip, you're an adult…"_

Then it struck him. Of course, he was an adult. He had the power to send himself back, did so twice already. Problem was, he already _was_ in a rerun. But it's not like Satoru knew the rules. He didn't make them anyhow. All he knew was that it happened in life-changing situations. _"When I say words, I feel they become real..." _Why couldn't he try?

„_A few minutes would be enough. Come on, five or seven is nothing, just give me… I have… Must…"_ Misato leaving her seat. The hockey match._ „I promised to go watch the Christmas tree with her in summer..."_ Some hockey player loudly cursing. The truck, speeding onto the road… He repeated the images quickly, again and again, hastening each time, and they became a looped circle…  
Blinding flash struck his eyes, banishing the encroaching black nothingness.

* * *

Suddenly, there he was. He breathed in deeply, surprised to find his lungs did not need the extra air. Stumbling before the ladies room he scanned the surroundings. The backdoor open wide, and a started truck rumbled nearby. Satoru leaned on the wall, mentally exhausted, his brain violently pulsing with pain. Blood dripped from his nose and Satoru thought himself to be fainting. At least this was not afterlife - I mean, what afterlife would start in the front of a ladies room? But Yashiro was coming, he had to run. Period. What else was there? There was no way Satoru could fool him now. So he dashed. Out into the cold, but not stopping. He ran, forward, after the truck, hearing loud puzzled screams of his teacher far behind, but didn't care for them one bit. After turning around a corner, Satoru pulled open a door of a mall and quickly walked behind the shelves.

After a while, his teachers car slowly rode through the street, but didn't stop. Satoru waited a while, hid behind a big shelf in the corner and his mind clouded again. When he came to, the mall was suddenly crowded by people. Satoru had jumped back to a time he just left – only now, he was safe, his death avoided by derailing the path. Recollecting himself, he strolled in the mall for a bit a then hurriedly left back on the streets.

Now he only had to go back home. The pain in his head subsided in a while, so Satoru could start coming to terms with his new reality. „I almost died just now," he thought blankly, these words echoing inside. His beloved teacher was the last piece of his puzzle. The lollipops in the car, the night raid on a schoolbus, the ambiguous remarks about the children… „_Your courageous act resulted in avoiding a tragedy…" _He could now sense the cold, bitter irony of Yashiro's praise.

But he knew – now he had no clues or evidence. No crime, and no proof. Yet he was once again a step ahead. Yashiro suspected him, he said as much, and there could be no taking that back. He was now the target. That also meant others were safe, and he himself could control his steps the best. If he stayed vigilant, he shouldn't helplessly fall into another trap. Satoru could not hide somewhere, else the killer would just return to his business. This time, the detective game needed him to play the bait and plant a trap for his murderer. Narrowing it down, he knew who kills and who will be the target, the only variable was the path. Mildly smirking, he muttered „I have this in the bag now." After a bit, he added; „Just don't screw it up this time."

Kenya said to 'brief them in tomorrow'. Naturally, he had to do just that. Could he convince them? Their beloved teacher… And he had no proof. But it could wait for tomorrow. It's not like Yashiro would come cut his throat in his sleep, right…? No, he was too crafty for that.

Kayo will believe him at least, Satoru settled. „_My hero,"_ sounded through him suddenly as his heart jumped. „For a better reason, at least," he remarked, thinking back to the car ride. A sharp chilly feeling ran over his skin, and then it returned to him all, his teachers twisted face, the laxatives he showed him, basketball getting smashed on a pedal and the icy water flowing inside the car rapidly-

He stopped and vomited behind bushes by the sidewalk. „I should, by all accounts, be dead right now," he mused. Satoru was fairly sure what he had done in the car would be impossible. Yet here he stood, white as chalk and his knees trembling, but very much alive. „Does this time-travelling nonsense even have any rules?" said he, quite baffled. Could he travel back anytime he was about to die? Better not count on that.

He pictured his bed – empty, clean, and soft. And he turned and ran again. Home, to mother. Eat hot dinner. Drink tea. He had to look at least presentable though. Satoru rubbed his face and ran a hand through the hair. Right, what was he doing? Looking out for a lonely girl in his class, nothing bad about that. Did not meet the teacher, no sir. Misato will be fine, she's not his target, he knew now.

In a while, he was home. Slowly, he walked into the house. „Good afternoon," he exclaimed, happy that his voice was not shaking. „You were supposed to call me, you know," said his mother in response to the greeting. „Guess I forgot, huh," said Satoru casually. Sachiko looked at him from the kitchen for a brief moment and returned back to cleaning the dishes. „I hope you're not letting what Sawada-san said get to your head. Don't want you chasing any cold cases around here, you know?", stated his mother matter of factly. „No worries. Won't be searching for anything now, there's no point in doing that," he smirked. „That's better," laughed Sachiko, her sixth sense not seeing anything amiss. „Now eat while the curry is hot."

Satoru took his bowl and ate like no tomorrow. „So…," started his mother slowly, „are you going to tell me where you went with Kayo yesterday?" Satoru blinked. He was not expecting that topic at all. „Nowhere in particular," he dodged at once, noticing his error right after. His mother would not give him a rest if he evaded her. „I mean, we went out…"  
„Ah, you are going out, I see. Didn't know-" Sachiko stifled a laugh when watching her sons conflicted face. After a while, he murmured a silent „not like that" and finished his bowl.

Sliding slowly into his normal schedule, Satoru went about his uneventful evening. But seeing the school books and homework filled him with disgust. After filled in some answers without looking twice and leaving it at that, he went to take a long shower, said good night to mother and jumped onto the bed. Satoru could finally let go of all pretense. Now he was alone. Now he could ponder all he could.

„What now?" he whispered to the room, eyeing all its corners and items, as if searching for clues. Nothing would stand out to him. A plan needed to hatched. Or something resembling it, for now. First, he'd need his friends on board. Make them believe a murderer from the second town over was here to kill yet again. What Sawada had said should suffice. But what will he use against Yashiro?

He sat upright again. The protective services, right, that Sensei mentioned himself. He should've called them at once, yet he did not. A provable lie.  
Then the school bus. Those were the tools of a murderer, yet only school personal would know of such a place and could get there at night. There couldn't be that many people in the schools scope.  
Yuuki – the murderer needed a scapegoat, as in the previous case. This time it should have been Yuuki, and Yashiro made it so he'd meet Aya. He'd have to ask them. Aya was the target and Misato was only a trap to misguide them. Satoru will tell others that much.  
„Should I mention Kayo was too…? Would they believe that? At least she was on the list before we pulled her away…"  
The lollipops in his car, that's a classic. And the car that won't stand out and can be changed easily…

It had to be enough to at least convince his friends. These were only little pieces, but hopefully enough to justify suspicion. If not, they have to just trust Satoru. In the end, if the teacher were to be innocent, nothing would come from giving him a window of opportunity to strike, right…  
„Well, it's a start," he thought, satisfied. He should sleep, long and hard. Shake all today's nerves off.

Nothing came of that. Long, long he stared at the ceiling. His teachers terrifying gaze, the cold, cold water… Satoru grabbed another blanket for himself. The failed life came back to him. He realized that his despair was the same as of his once dead classmates. Yet only had the luxury to be able to turn away, only he ever made it out of Yashiro's clutches, only he had the ability to jump back in time…

Hiromi, the shy boy, not in danger in this universe, because there were no previous murders to cover up. Dead, in front of their hideout…  
Aya, the witty and talkative girl that got easily impressed with Kazu's manly posing… How did she even die?  
And Kayo, the girl who died frozen by the man she hoped would save her from her mother's hell… More cold than even he could have been today. She was safe tonight. They all were, and he was too. This was the right timeline, and it was his job to make sure it stayed that way.

He remembered the warmth he felt when they slept side-by-side in the bus. Ease slowly filled him, remembering that night which seemed not to care for time. Sleeping but not sleeping, together with no end in sight, under the covers to hold the heat. The heat felt so surreal after this day. As he thought back to that, the memories from today's bone-chilling afternoon slowly faded, and a better, cozy feeling filled him. Satoru fell asleep not long after that.


End file.
